Tips for Decorating a Children’s Bathroom

When you think of children’s bathrooms, primary colors, clown motifs, and other tried-and-true themes may come to mind. If that’s what your child likes, that’s fine, but ask before you decorate. In a child’s bathroom, safety takes center stage. Following are some suggestions that spring from real-life experiences:

Avert scalding by installing hot stop valves that prevent a child from turning water on to the highest, hottest temperature.

Avoid using slippery area rugs, make sure the tub and floors are skid-proofed, and consider adding child-height grab bars.

Check that the glass for the shower or tub doors is tempered so that it doesn’t shatter. Make sure it’s properly installed.

Include rocker-type light switches low enough for a child to reach.

Install easy-to-maneuver lever faucet handles. Mount them on one side of the sink, near the front edge of the counter, so that a child can reach them without having to climb on top of the vanity.

Keep a nightlight on at all times.

Lock medicine and cleaning supply cabinet doors.

Make sure the shower door opens out so that no child (or adult) can become wedged in. (Make sure doors can swing freely.)

Place lever handles on all doors at a child’s height.

Prevent a child from locking himself in the bathroom; make sure that you can unlock the exterior door from the outside.

Provide a stool that doesn’t tip over for small children to use at the sink.

Remove electrically powered radios, hairdryers, and any other small appliances that could be dropped into the tub or sink. Substitute batter-operated products if desired or necessary.

Round corners on countertops to prevent injury to tots whose heads may be near the same height.

Screw freestanding storage cabinets to the wall so that they don’t tip.

Verify that your Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI) works. It shuts off electrical current when an appliance comes in contact with water.

When it comes to decorating, if you’re thinking of resale any time in the near future, take a moment before adding, applying, or installing anything that will cost time, effort, and dollars. Consider some temporary ways to bring special colors into your child’s bath with accessories.

Colorful accents and fun motifs in towels, bath mats, framed art, soaps, the shower curtain, and so on add fun. Perhaps use some of the new peel-and-stick ceramic tiles to create a border on the sink wall or cabinets. Peel-and-stick wallcovering borders add interest, too, and they’re easy to remove when you’re ready to move.